This week I celebrated a milestone birthday.  Not a BIG one…it ended in a 5 not an 0…but big enough.

Now, I LOVE celebrating my birthday.  Any number ending in a 3, a 7, a 4 or preferably a 1 is cause to dust off the dancin’ shoes in my eyes.  But not the big ones.  I tend to not do well with the big ones.  Why??  It’s just a number!!  I am still trying to figure that out  After all, it is just a number.

Surfing is filled with numbers.  Wave height.  Tide depth.  Board size.  How many people in the line up.  All numbers I perceive will affect my surf experience.

I try to make the right decisions based on the numbers.  These numbers can form my mind set of what my session will be like. How big are the waves? How high is the tide?  Did I bring the right size board for the conditions?  Should I go to a different break with fewer people in the water?  It’s all about my preconceived expectations.

In surfing, as in birthdays, these numbers only have as much power as we choose to give them.  They do not have to determine our reality.  They only can confine us within their borders if we let them.

“My board is too big for these steep, hollow waves.”

“I’m 45 now-bye bye mini skirts and 2 piece bikinis.”

“I can’t go surfing, the tide is way too low.”

“A 40 something woman doesn’t ask for a karaoke machine for her birthday.”

“The scale says ‘x’, I can’t even think of wearing something that shows my sensuality as a woman.”

“I’m too old to change my career.”

We limit ourselves with our expectations and judgment based on numbers.  In this way, I have found that my regrets are usually when I DON’T do something based on what I think ‘should’ happen.

When we choose to let go of our expectations we are free to live in the moment. We are free to experience every instant for what it is.   We open ourselves to new and amazing possibilities when we let go.  While surfing, when I throw preconceived notions aside, I open myself up to whatever the ocean brings. And the ocean never disappoints, it always exceeds my predictions.

No matter the number, I am ready to experience all life’s beautiful possibilities when I decide to let go of expectation, quiet my mind, release judgement, and just trust.

Trust in myself.

Trust in the moment.

And trust that I am exactly where I need to be.

In the line up and in my life.

Salty Kisses,

Karen